Published: 13 May 2017
Last updated: 4 March 2024
Says the bill would undermine the foundations of Israel’s Declaration of Independence – ‘a moral declaration that was accepted by the whole world’ - and of Israel’s democracy itself.
Language is not the only contested issue raised by the bill but it is a major one. Both Hebrew and Arabic have to date been regarded as official languages in Israel, though no law enshrines that status for either. The new nation-state bill, if passed, would make Hebrew ‘the national language’ and give Arabic a secondary ‘special status’, effectively demoting it.
WATCH: Janan Bsoul rips Into Israel's new bill stripping Arabic of official status [1:33] – Haaretz 09.05.17
'I am happy to say that this Trumpian law is starting to expose the dirt, and show the degree to which Israel thinks it's doing its Palestinian citizens a favour'
How Arabic became a foreign language in Israel – Ayman Sikseck – Ynetnews 09.05.17
The Nationality Bill, which downgrades Arabic from an official language, continues the process of excluding Arabic from the public domain and turning it into a weapon to sow panic among the public; Arabic is becoming a foreign language in Israel.
Related: More Jewish - and less democratic
Includes explanation how the wording about full and equal human and civil rights in Israel’s Declaration of Independence was included to comply with the UN Partition Plan for Palestine (adopted by UNGA Resolution 181 on 29.11.47).
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